Medical & Dental

Norman R. McCombs

Portable pressure-swing-adsorption oxygen concentrator

United StatesEvidence: high confidenceChecked July 2026

Person-specific 2026 event photograph credited by UNLV to Radioactive Productions. Rights remain with the source or photographer.

Who is Norman R. McCombs?

Norman R. McCombs is an inventor associated with United States. Their documented work in medical & dental includes Portable pressure-swing-adsorption oxygen concentrator, the contribution at the center of this evidence-backed profile.

Norman R. McCombs invented a portable oxygen concentrator that uses pressure-swing adsorption to pull therapeutic oxygen from ambient air. The suitcase-sized and later smaller machines freed patients from delivered cylinders and stationary tanks, giving oxygen-dependent people practical mobility and making routine air travel possible.

Known forPortable pressure-swing-adsorption oxygen concentrator
FieldMedical & Dental
Associated withUnited States
Evidence reviewed2 sources
01

What did Norman R. McCombs invent?

Invented a portable oxygen concentrator that separates oxygen from room air with pressure-swing adsorption.

02

What did Norman R. McCombs accomplish?

Portable concentrators turned an unlimited supply of room air into a mobile oxygen source and have helped millions of people leave home without hauling compressed-gas tanks.

03

What is known about Norman R. McCombs today?

McCombs spoke in person about the invention at a UNLV engineering fireside chat on March 26, 2026; the university published its account the next day.